Finding your optimum learning ‘groove’ is crucial to ensuring that you maximise the time and energy you have to learn new things.
Ming En is being extremely modest here, as he had already demonstrated great motivation and drive even before he had won the OE Award. When he first decided to take on the challenge of solving the FISOPS puzzle, he had no knowledge of image analysis and text classification. This meant that even before he could start building his AI Bot, he first had to learn new skills including optical character recognition (OCR), image recognition, and object detection. Only when he gained these new skills was he able to develop an effective approach to streamline the FISOPS process workflow.
Ming En presenting the AI bot for FISOPS to Permanent Secretary Pang Kin Keong at HTX’s inaugural TechXplore. (Photo: HTX)
Another project which he built – this time in collaboration with GovTech – was a phishing email classifier for JEDI – the JAGA Email Digital Inquisitor – a tool which helps security analysts investigate emails which have been reported as phishing attempts. The classifier uses Machine Learning (ML) techniques to classify elements in the suspected phishing email such as the target URLs and types of file attachments (for example, PDFs and MS Office files). As with his AI Bot, he first had to learn anti-phishing cybersecurity techniques before he was able to begin coding the classifier.
After his two-year stint as an Associate was over, Ming En decided to continue working at HTX, and is currently a Data Scientist with xData in the Enterprise Group. One notable project which he recently worked on was the update of NEMO, a horizon scanning and sense-making tool that is available on the Government Commercial Cloud (GCC). The original NEMO system used deep learning techniques to identify relevant content for users; his improvements helped NEMO achieve better accuracy, and it has since been onboarded on GCC 2.0 where it can be accessed via intranet by public officers. To build the update, he first had to study advanced ML techniques as well as the cloud technologies of Amazon Web Services (AWS).
Apart from his technical work at HTX, he is also active with HTX’s non-technical activities. He sits on various planning committees for events such as the recent TechXplore 5 and the Data & Analytics Community of Practice, and also serves as an emcee for eXpresso!, HTX’s bimonthly town hall. Tan Boon Howe, Deputy Director (Engagement), Strategic Communications, shared that Ming En readily learned the ropes of emceeing when he joined the eXpresso! team:
“He joined us as a member of the eXpresso! team in early Feb 2021 and even though he had no prior experience, he gamely agreed to the emcee for eXpresso! just two weeks later. He is very receptive to feedback and adapts quickly to the suggestions made to the script during rehearsals and has quickly established himself as a reliable emcee.”
To successfully juggle work, life, and study, Ming En recommends surrounding yourself with supportive people with whom you can share and discuss new ideas:
“I would stress on the importance of surrounding oneself with like-minded people with a positive learning attitude. Talking about ideas and concepts forces you to slow down and refine your thoughts. This will subsequently compound your own mindset and serve as fuel when one inevitably hits a rough patch in one’s learning journey.”
He also advises taking breaks. Apart from Valorant and Apex Legends, you may also find him working out at the gym or reading a non-fiction book like George Yeo’s Musings. For family vacations he enjoys cities with world-class service cultures like Tokyo and Kyoto. He says:
“Personally, I feel that the break time is just as important, if not more, than the study time. Finding your optimum learning ‘groove’ is crucial to ensuring that you maximise the time and energy you have to learn new things.”
In recognition of his application of lifelong learning to create practical improvements for the Home Team, he received the Exemplary SkillsFuture @ Public Service Award at the Public Sector Transformation Awards 2023, which recognises public officers who embody the spirit of continuous and lifelong learning.